1. What are the biggest mistakes startups make? If you want to be successful in business, you need to be OK with failure. You are going to try different things and most of them won’t work out. You need to be able to analyze those failures and apply what you learn to the next idea. Eventually, you will make fewer mistakes and take more calculated risks, which will help you create a more durable company for the long term.
I have started a couple of businesses that have failed. The key is learning from those failures. Do an analysis of why you think that business didn’t succeed. For me, the margins were low, the costs were high and my heart wasn’t in it. That lead me to pursue a business model where the margins were high, the cost was low and it was something that I was genuinely interested in.
2. What types of things should a startup business avoid?
Many businesses fail because they don’t get market validation first.. They come up with an idea but they don't ask others to see if people would actually buy their product or service. Another reason they fail is because of too much leverage. They borrow money to get started and are already at a disadvantage because they need to pay off the debt just to break even. They should avoid the temptation of loans. Many creditors are eager to offer you money to start.
3. Please include anything else an entrepreneur should know about starting a
business.
A start-up should map out a business plan, even if it is just one page. It should include how much it costs to operate, how much they anticipate to sell, who would buy their product and why. Too many businesses start without a basic plan and if you fail to plan you are essentially planning to fail.
I've been asked over the years, 'What is the number one thing that helped grow your business?' Creating repeatable systems and processes helped me essentially duplicate myself in the business. By doing this, I’ve been able to step out of much of the day to day activity and operations of the business and into my CEO role much further. This means I can be the visionary and director for continuing to grow the business.
Thanks for your consideration. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions or need further clarification on anything.